Looks like fans of gaming on Android will soon have another way to play on the go. Wikipad announced today that its gaming-focused Android tablet will launch in the U.S. on June 11 for $249, with releases in the U.K. and other countries around the globe slated to happen this summer.
The Wikipad itself is a tablet with a 7-inch 1280x800 display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. There's a quad-core Tegra 3 processor powering the whole package, as well as 16GB of internal storage that can be supplemented with a microSD card. Rounding out the Wikipad's spec sheet is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 4,100mAh battery, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, accelerometer and GPS trimmings.
One unique feature of the Wikipad is its ability to slot into a dedicated controller that features dual analog sticks, a d-pad and an assortment of physical buttons. Each Wikipad tablet comes with a controller, which ought to make it easier to play more hardcore games that might not be well-suited for touchscreen controls. The Wikipad also features support for PlayStation Mobile and NVIDIA's TegraZone, meaning that it'll have access to select PlayStation titles as well as the games that are handpicked by NVIDIA to show off its Tegra chips.
At $249, the Wikipad comes in at around the middle of the mobile gaming pack. It costs more than the Nintendo 3DS, the same price as a Wi-Fi-only PlayStation Vita and a full $100 less than NVIDIA's Shield, which is also slated to launch next month. Both the Shield and Wikipad run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and while the Shield's spec sheet is a bit higher-end than the Wikipad's, the fact that the Wikipad can be detached from its controller and used as a standalone Android tablet could be an attractive feature to some.
The Wikipad has had a bit of a bumpy road leading up to its launch, with the original model actually slated to be a 10-inch tablet. After facing some delays, the 10-inch model ended up getting postponed, and this new 7-inch model took its place. It appears that the Wikipad's long trek to retail is nearly over, though, and it'll be interesting to see how consumers respond to the 7-inch Android tablet and its dedicated gaming controller. The Wikipad will be available at Walmart, Best Buy and TigerDirect.com when it goes on sale later this month.
Via Wikipad (PDF)
